Central air conditioners are used to maintain indoor ambient air temperatures at comfortable ranges during hot weather. In the northern United States, the air conditioning season will typically run through the summer months; in the southern United States, the air conditioning season will typically run from mid-spring through mid-autumn. Central air conditioners typically consist of an indoor air conditioning unit, an outdoor air conditioning unit, and plumbing, electrical, and ductwork between the units and throughout the building to be cooled.
Outdoor air-conditioning units (OACU's) typically include a compressor, a condenser, a grill, various piping and valves, and a fan all contained within a metal housing and are powered by electrical wiring routed from the building they serve. The purpose of an indoor air-conditioning unit is to transfer the heat from a building or structure to refrigerant in the air-conditioning system piping which vaporizes to a gaseous state thereby lowering the temperature within the building, and then transmits this refrigerant gas via piping to the outdoor air-conditioning unit where the compressor converts the gas back to a liquid in the condenser, thereby generating heat that is transferred to ambient environment outside of the building or structure with the fan. The outdoor air-conditioning units are frequently located close to the building they serve so that the distance that the transfer piping requiring thermal insulation must traverse is minimized. They are often located in a position where the eaves of the building and trees or shrubbery will shade the unit from direct solar radiation.
During the winter months when air conditioning is not utilized, the outdoor air-conditioning unit is susceptible to damage from snow, ice, and other hard objects falling from the eaves and trees. Since the fan motor of an outdoor unit is frequently mounted to the underside of the top panel of the unit, the fan motor is particularly susceptible to damage. Furthermore, the top panel is usually formed with fins or a grille which are also easily damaged by falling objects. Therefore, it is desirable for an air conditioner cover to be capable of protecting against such damage from wind-driven precipitation and hard, falling objects, yet be easily installed or removed and stowable during the warm seasons. It is important that through ventilation can enter the sides of the unit to dry out moisture inside the unit which may lead to condensation and ultimately to corrosion. If the cover is supplied as an accessory by the air conditioning manufacturer, a displayed trademark or name may be of value.
People oftentimes use a simple piece of plywood with a cinderblock placed on top of it to protect the OACU during the off-season. There are several limitations associated with this including the potential to scratch and dent the upper surface of the OACU and the fan grille and the aesthetics of the plywood and cinderblock.
Covers to protect the OACU have been available since the 1960's, but those have primarily been simple canvas covers designed to totally or nearly totally enclose the OACU. However, these devices do not address the perils discussed earlier, that of falling objects such as ice and tree limbs, or rain and moisture trapped inside the covered OACU. Aubuchon provided a ventilating protective cover for top-discharge air conditioners (U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,678) designed to provide corrosion protection to the upper portion of the OACU. Aubuchon's cover used an impervious skirt that covered only the upper portion of the OACU and only provided protection to that portion of the OACU. Because the skirt used by Aubuchon was impervious to moisture, use of the skirt to cover more than 50 percent of the OACU would result in corrosion of the underlying OACU as trapped moisture would be unable to escape the unit. Nelson provided an air conditioner cover (U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,849) with a panel and a flexible shroud to protect the air conditioner cover. This cover provided protection against falling objects but provided no protection from moisture to be trapped inside the covered OACU which could lead to corrosion of the OACU. The present invention addresses all these limitations and is described herewith.
Additionally, a fully enclosed OACU is an inviting home for rodents, which may lead to additional damage to the unit. The present invention does not fully enclose the OACU and does not present an attractive home for rodents.